Will Chase

When last we saw the characters of Nashville, love was distinctly not in the air in Music City. Rayna Jaymes (Connie Britton) had just jilted fiancé Luke Wheeler (Will Chase), Layla Grant (Aubrey Peeples) was floating face-down in a pool and Will Lexington (Chris Carmack) continued to struggle with being gay, sleeping with anything with breasts to try to prove he isn't.

When we last saw Nashville's foremost love triangle, Rayna Jaymes (Connie Britton) opted to break her cycle of dysfunctional relationships. Unfortunately for fiancé Luke Wheeler (Will Chase), that also meant breaking off their engagement.

In an exclusive clip from the Music City soap's winter premiere on Wednesday, Luke pays a visit to Rayna's ex Deacon Claybourne (Charles Esten). Given the longstanding rivalry between the two men, it's just a matter of moments before things get physical. Actually, seconds: 26 to be precise.

After Rayna jilted him, Luke took his anger out on several reception chairs. But his reaction to Deacon's claim that he didn't play a part in the split is positively nasty: "It's always been about you – every damn day since you two met. I should have known better than to go sniffin' around that b----."

Every week, a member of the Nashville cast will blog about the latest episode of the ABC hit. This week, Will Chase – who plays Luke Wheeler – writes about being the other man in the complicated life of Rayna Jaymes.

It's funny. Even with Deacon (Charles Esten) and all of his demons, fans demonize Luke, who has done absolutely nothing wrong. Like, I'm not a freakin' mess! I'm not a bad guy!

Deacon keeps coming and will keep coming. I think Rayna (Connie Britton) might feel a little bit like she's selling out. I like that it's messy rather than it being a maniacal mustache-twirling thing. Even with Deacon's faults, it doesn't mean he can't be good for Rayna. Fans are pretty outspoken with their love for that relationship.

The star of NBC's upcoming musical series (premiering Feb. 6, 10 p.m. ET) and her on-and-offscreen love interest, Will Chase, attended the N.Y.C. premiere for the show Thursday night, and hit a major relationship milestone in the process.

At an opulent dinner after the premiere, Chase, 41, met Messing's parents, sidling up to her father in a booth while the actress's mother sat on his other side.

A show insider confirmed to PEOPLE last month that the costars were dating – shortly after Messing, 43, confirmed that she and her husband of 10 years, Daniel Zelman, separated in 2011. (Chase also recently split from his wife.)